The following is a dialogue I often have recently:
Passer by: "What is this?"
Me: "Camera."
Passer by: "Camera??"
Me: "Yes."
Passer by: "What brand?"
I: “HTC。”
Passerby: "Isn't HTC a mobile phone maker? Out of camera? "
Me: "Yes."
Indeed, a camera product from HTC, a well-known smartphone manufacturer, sounds a bit strange, but RE is really a camera, and it is an unusual camera. Let's take a look at HTC's debut in camera.
However, as an old saying goes, the evaluation machine we have received is only an engineering version at present, and the supporting software is also a beta version. HTC may make changes to things including specifications when RE is officially launched in mainland China, and then the official announcement will prevail.
Specifications:
16 megapixel 1/2.3 inch Sony sensor;
146 ° wide-angle lens, F/2.8 aperture;
support 1080p@30fps Video recording;
720p Slow motion video;
Built in holding sensor, automatic switch on and off;
Bluetooth 4.0, Wi Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Wi Fi Direct, MicroUSB interface, MicroSD card slot, tripod screw;
Support Android (above 4.3) and iOS;
The body weight is 66.5g, and the built-in battery capacity is 820mAh.
The above specifications are from HTC's official page of RE camera in the United States. There are also photos of RE camera launching in the official page, so RE should be waterproof, but there is no description on the page of the official website of the United States. Therefore, we will not test the waterproof ability of the prototype this time. Please forgive me.
In addition, the RE we got somehow can only connect to HTC's smart phone, and we can use Samsung Note 3 Note 4、 Sony Z2 and Z3 failed to connect. The iOS device failed to test because there was no APP.
appearance:
The RE obtained this time is a white body, and the RE will have a total of three body colors: orange, blue and white. The three colors are matched with lens rings in the same color as the body. The lens ring of the white RE is made of aluminum alloy, with sanding treatment on the outside. There is concentric circular lines on one side of the lens, and there is no paint on the metal ring, so there is no need to worry about the problem of paint peeling.
The other side of RE is the shutter button and HTC logo. The shutter button is chrome plated and made of plastic.
There is an LED light on the shutter button, which flashes red when recording video.
There is also an LED light at the bottom of the front. The LED light will flash red when the power is low. In the black hole, there is a buzzer to indicate the status of RE.
At the bottom are MicroUSB interface, tripod screw and MicroSD card slot, which are protected by waterproof cover.
It is not clear how large SD card the RE camera can support at most, but the 16GB and 32GB SD cards can be used normally.
When taking a picture, the thumb can naturally rest on the shutter button, and the index finger can easily control the auxiliary button in front. However, the auxiliary button has a very hard feel and a short key range, so the shutter button has a good feel.
With a 16 million pixel wide-angle lens, the white metal ring is exquisitely made without painting (how do I know? Because I dropped RE and then the metal ring has a dent but no paint TAT).
There is a button under the lens, and the silver shutter button on the back can be long pressed at the same time to record slow motion video.
Pairing connection:
At present, the software supporting RE is not yet available for download, and the software we get is still a beta version for the time being, so there are many bugs in the software, and there are many places that have not been completely sinicized.
The pairing and connection of the RE camera is very simple. When the camera is not turned on for the first time, long press the shutter button for 2 seconds to turn it on. After pairing with the matching APP, the phone will automatically connect. The connection speed is good (this connection guide is not Chinese). For the first connection, the RE will be required to set a password, To prevent unauthorized people from accessing photos stored inside RE.
After the connection is successful, you will first enter the image library browsing interface. It will take a while for RE and mobile phone to synchronize the thumbnail of the photo through Bluetooth (the thumbnail of the software in the beta version will also have some errors, such as two photos in the lower right corner). Click the camera icon in the upper right corner to enter the RE's viewfinder interface, The pictures captured by RE will be transmitted to the mobile phone screen for display in real time. Of course, RE can take pictures or video without connecting to the mobile phone, but it is not clear what the picture looks like.
The three options of the vertical view interface of APP are still photos, video and slow motion video.
The landscape view interface allows full screen view when taking 16:9 photos.
The setting interface is simple and clear.
In fact, there are not many setting items for RE. The more distinctive feature is the super wide-angle mode, which will be explained later in the sample comparison.
There are also various settings, which are quite conventional.
RE supports a maximum of 16 million pixels of photos. When using the maximum resolution, the photo ratio is 4:3, while the maximum resolution of 16:9 photos is 12 million pixels, which is enough.
In terms of video recording, it supports 30FPS video recording with two resolutions. In addition, there is a slow motion video function, which is not set.
This is more evil. The shutter sound can be closed.
(When writing here The author is this expression → ）
The viewfinder interface.
HTC ONE E8 naturally has no problem.
Sony Z3 can search, but the connection always fails.
With Samsung NOTE 4, RE cannot be searched.
Photo proof:
In fact, the daytime imaging of RE is quite good, with the consistent style of HTC. The white balance is relatively accurate, but there is a little bit of redness. The image brightness is also well controlled. The tolerance of this Sony sensor is also good. In addition, even if RE does not turn on the ultra wide angle mode, the field of view is large, which inevitably causes slight distortion of the image edge.
It should be noted that the RE camera does not provide the auto focus function, but uses the fan focus lens. The closest distance that this lens can clearly shoot is about 7cm. If it is closer, it will exceed the clear range, such as the green leaf part of the last sample above.
The number of pixels is enough to make the sharpness of the image more appropriate. However, RE will smear the image to reduce noise during imaging, and the image obtained is very clean, but the retention of details is naturally not so good.
The night scene proof of RE really surprised me a little, because the night scene performance of RE easily killed the ONE fashion version used to control it. Of course, the reason is that compared with ordinary mobile phones, there is a larger area of CMOS, and it is not easy for RE to shake hands when taking photos. If the hands shake, fasten RE to the waist of your pants (such as the last picture above), as long as you stand firmly, One shot is accurate (laughing).
The comparison between the ultra wide angle mode and the normal mode shows that the ultra wide angle mode is just crazy. The field of vision has suddenly expanded a lot compared with the normal mode. At the same time, it also brings a little fisheye effect. The photos and videos taken with this mode are really special.
The effect of shooting in super wide angle mode, ha ha.
Summary:
In the final analysis, this simple gadget still appears as a sports camera, which generally challenges GoPro. In combination with HTC's powerful software R&D capabilities, RE may have a variety of fun ways to play in the future. For now, The still photo shooting effect in all scenes of RE is quite good, and the video recording effect is slightly inferior. However, thanks to the ultra wide-angle lens, the overall practicability is still good. The compact and flexible body design, comfortable grip and excellent workmanship all add a lot of points to it, but after all, this kind of sports camera is only a plaything for a few people, In fact, the price of RE is slightly higher.
At present, HTC seems not to have provided RE with accessories that can be bundled with the mobile phone, but it is estimated that the RE design is full of hostility when tied to the mobile phone. It is the correct way to play and use the mobile phone to control the camera when tied to the waist of the trousers or the shoulder belt of the backpack (the official has not announced the specific waterproof capacity, which needs to be determined after the official listing of the Bank of China) It sounds attractive enough, but it's very gentlemanly to be able to close the shutter sound. You must be careful when you see someone holding this product in the swimming pool.
The positioning of RE is similar to that of Sony's QX series digital cameras at first sight, but after two or three days of actual use, it is found that the two are very different, RE focuses on happy and relaxed free hand shooting and various playing methods. QX exists as a way to expand the picture quality of mobile phones. If the picture quality is compared, QX can beat RE so that HTC can't spell correctly. However, RE is much better than QX in terms of flexible playability and lightweight portability.
Besides HTC, HTC is steadily on the road of rejuvenation, and cheap Android phones make HTC's road of rejuvenation impossible to be smooth, so HTC is also aware of this, HTC At present, they are making unprecedented efforts to carry out their innovation. The newly launched Butterfly 2 and Desire Eye are waterproof when the USB port and headset port are exposed. With this RE, perhaps HTC will also go on the waterproof road like Sony. Maybe soon, we will see a waterproof mobile phone with a more bold and novel appearance design, with HTC's name stuck on it, come on.
advantage:
The photo effect is good;
The operation is very simple, the connection is relatively convenient, and the endurance is also very good;
The workmanship is as excellent as HTC products;
Waterproof capacity (should be available);
The night view effect is very good;
Compact body and various playing methods;
Insufficient:
